Order, we will now proceed with questions. I will begin by recognizing myself or five minutes. On may 25, in the twilight of memorial day, Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police held a need to george mr. Floydonless neck, pleaded for release, repeating the words i cant breathe. Mr. Floyd, i am sure you have seen the video. Can you think of any reason why officer chauvin would need to hold his knee on your brothers for over eight minutes . I dont know why he did it, but personally i think it was personal. They worked at the same place. For him to do Something Like that, it had to be premeditated and he wanted to do it. Intentional. Yes sir. We have learned since then that he has faced 17 misconduct complaints during his career. He was named in the brutality lawsuit, he shot and critically wounded a man after a brief and nonviolent confrontation. How do you feel about the history what do you know what do you feel about the history of misconduct . He should have been off the force. Any officer committing an act like that should not be able to get a job in any county after they get fired. To fire enough evidence them, but not enough to arrest them. Ms gupta, does this make any sense . Should we keep officers with long list of conduct complaints on patrol . We should not. Its why the Leadership Conference has pushed for the establishment of a National Police misconduct registry. Its a registry of federal, state, and local Law Enforcement officials that would created create discipline and termination records. I will tell you that there is significant Law Enforcement support for this registry. Prosecutors around the country have asked for this, but it has been said that this is a real problem for chiefs when they dont have this information and they make higher hiring decisions. And thats why we have this in our policing and justice bill area bill. Thats correct. Chief, you manage a large urban police force. Our misconduct complaints a red flag . Yes, they are. What do you think we can do about that . We make it really clear to thatfficers and employees none of them are cats, you dont get nine lives, and we use progressive discipline. Sometimes labor will argue why are you firing someone with progressive discipline and the answer is simple. If the policy violation supports termination and indefinite suspension, thats what we do for either the first or the third offense. A pattern of misconduct cannot and should not be missed cannot and should not be tolerated. Thats whites important to follow a pattern of complaints to look for any type of patterns theres anyo see if commonality and we can take a deeper look at our employees. You think its a good idea to have a National Registry so one Police Department that knew about the misconduct of an officer before Different Police officer hire him . I can tell you in an individual capacity i do support that concept. As an organization weve been busy operationally in the last two weeks and we will start having our deliberation hopefully on friday. And we will come back with an official position. I can tell you that individual chiefs that i have spoken with support it. Having said that, absent a National Registry, it is incumbent upon hiring agencies to do thorough backgrounds of the internal affairs packages, complaint histories, that everything is available from previous departments. Due diligence is important with or without a registry. But i do support that concept. Thank you, my time has expired. Thank you. Mr. Floyd, i dont know that the cameras picked it up or saw it. But when angela talked about her brother dying, i saw a physical reaction from you, you leaned over, i noticed your body even tremble with empathy and care for angela and her brother who passed away. If you could say anything to people who killed pat, what would it be. Life is precious, everyone should be able to live and walk this earth in the journey they want to. Be no one should have to filled with hatred and so much animosity that they want to kill someone. Dr. King said he wanted everybody around the world to be able to join hands together, and i think right now, if he was here he would understand that the world is united right now. Nd we are all coming together . I have a question i would like to ask everyone, i apologize for the crude nature, if you believe we should refund the police, would you please raise your hand. Wonderful that here we are [indiscernible] i did not see anyone to raise their hand, certainly not the republican witnesses. [indiscernible] to go throughng and see where that sentiment may have been reflected. Here are tweets from our two Congressional Colleagues supporting black visions minnesota. And heres that same group that my Congressional Colleagues are raising money or saying we should and the police. And here is same organization retreating rebels come, abolish the police. Heres the same group saying that instead of we need therapists, doctors, and street medics. In your experience, every time someone called 911, would arabist or a medic sufficient or sometimes to people need cops . I dont know how a medic subject whond arm was assaulting his wife, im not sure how that would be of value. Here is the same group saying we need lasers to disorient surveillance cameras and water balloons will with milk to throw people. This is the organization that my Congressional Colleagues are raising money to support. If we can go to the next one. And that same organization, that multiple members of congress are supporting saying it not enough to only abolish police or prisons, we need to abolish ice, the military, the states, the borders. This is what our colleagues are raising money for. Its not just any member of congress, exactly one of our treasured colleagues on the judiciary committee, the gentlelady from washington raising money for the same organization. Miss underwood jacobs, your brother is somebody who was part of this Law Enforcement community when he gave his life. When you learned that my colleagues in congress are raising money for an organization that promotes defunding the police, destroying our borders, deep ending our military and taking apart the state, how does that make you feel . I actually find that conduct deplorable. We elect officials to represent everyone and the idea to have our communities without protection and safety is wrong. My response to that would be people to get out and vote and get the right person in office to ensure that we feel protected and our children feel protected. I appreciate that greatly. Mr. Floyd, i appreciate your calls not only today but in the direct aftermath of your brothers killing. You showed grace, and care for your fellow americans. I dont know if everybody is religious, but i do believe god is working through you to call us together. And finally i wanted to thank miss asked for the ledges legislationr the she has introduced. While i think we can finetune elements of that we dont under the police and make communities less safe, i dont think theres a legitimate defense of chokeholds or lynching or bad cops that get shuttled around and you can count on republican cooperation as we hone these ideas and hope lay past them and get them to the president s desk area desk. Ms. Lofgren . Chairman. Ou mr. What a transformational week this has been since the murder of mr. Floyd. Im grateful to my constituents and those around the country who have marched peacefully to raise the issue of justice in our country. I am grateful for the Congressional Black Caucus and you mr. Chairman, for your work in putting this bill together. I think it is important to say at the outset what this hearing is about and what its not about. , and how wehis bill can improve the state of policing in the United States. I have heard several people talk about funding for Law Enforcement. We did that when we passed the heroes act. We provided funds for local governments to address issues in their communities, whether its and ther Public Safety, local communities organize their Public Safety response. Not the federal government. But when there are police, we want to make sure that those police operate in a legal way, that does not use violence against people who pose no violent threats. Thats why i would like to ask if these two questions could be addressed. We have incorporated the peace bill, outlining when the use of deadly force is appropriate. That, coupled with the new ,tandard for unwillfulness which would provide accountability, is my question to you. With those measures help prevent violence against people who are not posing a violent threat . I welcome the opportunity to talk about the funding issue. Let me answer the question you have asked. What is the principal problem his we have found in longstanding systemic issue of Police Violence against unarmed africanamericans the inability to hold officers facing misconduct accountable. This is not just about the individual officers, which some refer to as a bad apple. This is about a system of existtability that must if Police Officers are to understand that they cannot engage in certain kinds of conduct. Unfortunately, all of the legal tools that are available to us to hold officers accountable has been weakened or lack the position of strength and language to allow us to use those. So strengthening the language of the federal criminal statute which does not require such a High Standard to prove intent of the officer conduct is critical. Adding recklessness into that provision is vitally important. On thesuggested earlier civil side is vitally important, in removing that to ensure that officers can be held accountable. Ive spoken to many Police Officers about the culture of immunity around brutality. They know, just as anyone who hasnt been that has been in the system knows, whether they are lawyers, doctors, these officers, that accountability is critical to influencing behavior. Unfortunately, our legal system has failed in providing that accountability. So we need to go into the statutes where the language is not strong, or has been interpreted in such a way that it removes the power of the statute and put the tools back into the hands of the department of justice, private attorneys, and civil rights attorneys to hold accountables to hold officers accountable. Thank you. My time is nearly expired. I would just like to say that for many years, africanamericans have been mistreated in many cases and in many communities by Law Enforcement. The multiethnic broad and peaceful protest that has arisen around the country, which has been met with violence has opened the eyes of americans across the United States about the need for reform. I think this is an important step forward. Thank you mr. Chairman, i yield back. The gentlelady yields back. Thank you mr. Chairman. When in the tv on turned the tv on the day after memorial day and saw the brutal murder of george floyd, it made me sick. Depravity that was exhibited there burned in my soul. Floyd, like to say, mr. Not only am i personally sad and express my condolences to you and your family, but the pain of your brother, i think has become the pain of america. After your brother died, there were a lot of people who theirmately exercised constitutional line to peacefully protest. There are some who came in who did not want to peacefully protest and there was a result of riots, arson, burning, people, protesters and Police Became injured. That, in my opinion, ended up attempting to destroy the legacy of your brother. And the people who did decide to raise mayhem are going to have to account for that sooner or later, whether its in a court of law or elsewhere. But i think we have to recognize one thing. And we have heard about this from some of the written the witnesses. There are good cops and bad cops. If the police end up being defunded, which i think would be a horrible idea lets look at what the consequence will be. First, the consequence will be if there are no police there will be vigilantism. And there will probably be more racism if people take the law into their own hands than if they relied on the police to investigate crimes and protect the public. The second thing is that it will hurt the good cops. 99 of the people who serve in Law Enforcement and put their lives on the line every day of the year. Of the year are good cops. They want to enforce the law. They dont want to harm anyone. They know that their job is to protect the public. These are the cops that if money were taken away, they would end up losing their job or not getting pay raises or even getting takeout pay cats. That would be a travesty of justice. Having said that. I want to turn to my democratic colleagues. A lot of the police union hasvity that we have seen been to protect bad cops. Thisolice unions in country, and my democratic colleagues have more friends in those unions that we republicans do . Republicans do. Are going to have to step up to the plate and be cooperative with communities and getting rid of the bad cops. I have heard that George Floyds assailant had 16 allegations of misconduct against him. Why was he still on the force . Invitation for more misconduct. And unfortunately, mr. Floyd, your brother ended up in the am of that. That as the debate goes on, we have speedier resolutions of getting rid of bad cops. Havingothing wrong with a bad cop database. But having a database is not going to get somebody fired who ought to be fired. The sooner we get the bad cops off the force, the sooner there will no longer there will no longer be bad apples to spoil the whole barrel. I look forward to working with all of you. But you guys on the other of the aisle are going to have to be very proactive in telling Police Unions that its in their interest and the interest of the vast majority of their membership to get rid of bad cops. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Ms. Jackson lee . Thank you mr. Chairman for the leadership, and the leadership of this committee. And of course the Congressional Black Caucus,. My very deep sympathy miss jacobs, to you. Nobody should die on the streets of this nation. We thank you for your brothers service. Family andk to my constituents from houston, to let you know that george floyd, your big brother, should not have died on the streets of minneapolis. He did not deserve to die. He was an innocent person. And the eight minutes and 46 seconds that we knelt to reflect was so painfully long that the stain and the impact will be in our souls forever. You have to carry this in your heart. So i think today, the good news lawhat the george floyd trust and integrity bill, the name is already incorporated and the justice and policing act is a legislative reconstruct to do what you have asked us to do. To do what those who are on the streets who are young, black, brown, white, asian, crying out. We need to hear them. I want to say that i have heard them. If you would, there are many things you have said. I believe in harmony. But do you believe that race impacted what happened to your brother . , ibelieve yes maam believe that. George, wherever he goes, he impacts a place. He such a gentle giant. So at that club mr. Shaaban ked at mr. Shaaban chauvin work tim, works there, kill him just because he did not like him. It would have to be something to do with racism. We must get rid of the stain of race. There is an emphasis on discerning what Excessive Force is, chief, if you could emphasize the importance of having standards and accreditation of the huge numbers of Police Departments very quickly for us. Thank you, congresswoman. We have 18,000 Police Departments in this nation, with 18,000 sets of rules, policies, and regulations. 18,000 levels of accountability. Once well you that discussed this as a group that we absolutely have to have national standards. Training regiments. And oversight. To be part ofd that conversation and we look for to the conversation. You have mr. Crump, seen a lot of these cases. Accountable,e taking away this barrier of qualified immunity, but additionally getting back to consent decrees. If you can quickly respond to that, i have a question for mr. Butler. Let me thank you for being there from the litany of names, including eric garner and Trayvon Martin we have been together and there was a long list i am not ignoring. Michael brown, but thank you very much. Butler thank you for your leadership. Breeds impunity. Accountability. It allows for all of those names, to keep adding up, adding up. Need to attack this like an epidemic on black people, because that is what we see happening in our communities. This is about misconduct. We know there are good Police Officers, help us understand. How much of that staying permeates into policing when they go into the Africanamerican Community and deal with africanamerican men . Far too often, officers view themselves as warriors and it is though the communities they serve experience them as occupying forces. There has been so much attention to the pandemic and how we are going to find a treatment. For this epidemic of Police Violence, already have a treatment. President obamas commission on 21st Century Policing recommended commonsense reforms, many of which are contained in the justice act of 2020. We dont have to reinvent anything. We know exactly what to do to make Police Departments more accountable and transparent. The question is, will your colleagues have the will to implement these commonsense measures . Rep. Nadler the gentleladys time is expired. To make i look forward changing the bills name to <